“Halfway through my first workout I was turning green. It was awesome.”
~Scott Olson, two-time Masters champion
When Scott Olson entered Front Range CrossFit in Denver, Colorado, Thanksgiving morning in 2009, he was skeptical.
“My daughter and son told me about CrossFit—doing 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and kettlebells,” he said. “I told her, ‘I’m strong, but nobody does 100 pull-ups.’”
“Halfway through my first workout I was turning green. It was awesome.”
Since his high school football days back in the 1960s, he’s stayed active. In college, Olson played middle linebacker and competed in slalom water skiing. When his children were young, he helped them practice and train in basketball, soccer and lacrosse. As a family, the Olsons drove up to the high country to snow ski.
As his children grew, Olson was left to exercise on his own. He opted for biking 200 miles each week along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Five years ago, at the age of 57, Olson walked into Front Range CrossFit.
“I came back for a second workout and I was hooked,” he said.
For the past four years he’s been cleaning house, claiming title after title, in the annual CrossFit Games Masters competition.
This year, after taking first in four out of the five Open workouts, Olson qualified for the 60+ Masters Division in the South West Region. The 62-year-old is poised to win the CrossFit Games title in the Masters Division for the third year in a row.
“When I started I had no intention of competing,” he said. “But I caught on quick.”
In addition to getting to spend more time with his children, Olson said he enjoys the camaraderie and competition CrossFit offers.
“When I started there were two guys over 50,” he said. “I wanted to do what everyone else was doing so I wasn’t scaling. I guess I’m just a dumb jock overachiever. … A couple of weeks in, people were looking at me going, ‘Who is this guy?’”
Olson insists he’s just one of the guys despite being twice the age of many of his fellow athletes.
“They call me old man, but then I beat them in the (workout), and I say, ‘How does it feel to get beat by the old guy?’” he said, laughing.
Olson’s fellow athletes said they enjoy his sense of humor and work ethic.
“He’s gifted, but he works hard,” said Diana Rudolph, Olson’s training partner. “He works just as hard as everyone else. He never sits back and thinks he has it figured out.”
Rudolph said Olson cheers on the other athletes as they struggle through the workouts, but he’s not afraid to correct and give feedback when necessary.
“He’s intense, but in a good way,” she said. “He makes me push myself. He was the first guy to no-rep me when I didn’t have the proper form on a movement. He would expect me to do the same to him, but I don’t get to call him out very often.”
Olson began competing in 2010, just one year into his CrossFit career, after coach and Front Range CrossFit owner Skip Miller approached him to represent the gym in the regional competition.
“I was nervous as hell,” he said. “I didn’t have double-unders, but I ended up qualifying for the CrossFit Games.”
Ranked 12th in the world, Olson was in third place after the second event of the 2010 Games before he had to pull out of the competition due to a torn bicep after completing a 435-lb. deadlift. His score was good enough for a sixth-place finish overall.
Olson wasn’t out for long. In 2011, he qualified again for the Games, taking second in the 55-59 Division. In 2012, he placed first in the 60+ Division and reclaimed his title in 2013.
Now, he’s hungry for the three-peat.
“I’ve got some real competition this year,” he said. “Last year, I won the competition with a 205-lb. clean, but there are guys cleaning 250 lb. I’ll have to work harder to claim the top spot.”
Olson’s cheering section has faith he’ll stand on top of the podium.
“I think he’s going to do awesome,” said Kristen Olson, Scott Olson’s daughter. “I’m excited to see him throw down.”
Kristen, a hopeful for the regional competition, as well, said she’s thrilled CrossFit has become a family affair.
“I’m lucky to be able to spend so much time with my dad,” she said. “We have a good rivalry, but I’m rooting for him and he’s rooting for me.”
As he prepares for the CrossFit Games, Olson said he doesn’t adhere to a specific training regimen.
“I just show up every day, regardless of the workout,” he said, adding that he’s doing workouts six days each week and lifting four days each week.
“I like (all of the workouts) now because I don’t suck,” he said, laughing. “I’m not great, but I don’t suck.”
Although he knows CrossFit isn’t for everyone, Olson said he hopes more seniors will continue being active.
His plea to others: Do something.
“It will improve your quality of life,” he said. “When all you do is sit, your hips hurt, your memory gets stale and you get crotchety. You’re never too old to move. … When you feel good about yourself, everything is better.”
